Vroom!

Rev your angry engines, men
In honor of our champion
Those sneaky liberals sank his boat
By a measly seven million votes
So rev your angry engines

Rev your angry engines, guys
What they call truth is what we call lies
We’ll swallow every lie we’re told
Until our hateful heads explode
And rev our angry engines

Rev your angry engines, dudes
Let liberals’ poison be our food
We’ll swallow bullshit, gobble hate
Then all of it regurgitate
And rev our angry engines

David A Sorensen
Duluth, Minnesota

Each of us has a role

At last, we have cleared a key hurdle on climate change. The vast majority of people now agree that climate change is real, that the raft of record-setting rainstorms and associated floods, powerful hurricanes, and massive wildfires are evidence enough. Recognition is the first step in solving a problem.

Now what?

While decision makers in Washington and elsewhere are squabbling about what to do about climate change, when to do it and to what degree, we citizens can take tangible steps to address climate change now.

We have all heard the argument that action taken by an individual can’t possibly make a difference. But what we’re talking about involves spurring the actions of the many, which begins with you and me.
As one who believes in grabbing the low-hanging fruit first, how we use our cars is a perfect place to start. Consider these simple actions that both address climate change and save money:

• Bundle car-related errands so as reduce the overall miles driven. Less windshield time leaves more money in your wallet, not to mention frees up more time for other things.
• Accelerate gradually and drive the speed limit. This, too, saves you money and gas, which means less auto emissions that contribute to climate change.
• Turn off your engine while you “pop in” for that quick errand. Again, reduced emissions results.
• When it comes time to replace that tired vehicle, choose one that gets better fuel economy. It will save you hundreds of dollars every year in reduced fuel costs.

The beauty of these measures is they save us money, while reducing the planetary carbon footprint.

Done by just one per cent of the American population would mean billions of pounds of carbon emissions kept out of the atmosphere every year.

It is worth noting that there is a national effort to enact legislation to address climate change. You can visit the website of Citizens Climate Lobby for details, at citizensclimatelobby.org

Each of us has a role here. Thankfully, doing so does not have to cost us a nickel, while saving us plenty.

Bruce Moore
Bayfield, Wisconsin

The latest in a long line of ignorant, fear-based ‘haters’

In last week’s Reader (10/7/21) the latest version of a fear-based personality has come by to trumpet his ignorance. For starters, hatred and anger are derivatives of fear. Most often the hatred and anger a person feels are facades overlying their fear. Most often the person is in denial of their fear issues, which is why they feel fine with blaming their hatred and anger on everyone else, because, you know, “I’m not the problem.”

I’ve yet to have any of these “haters” mention exactly how many liberals they’ve spoken to about their assumption(s): My guess is these people assume that everyone hates Trump like they hate Biden (Clinton, etc.,), and then they assume their assumption is correct because “everyone knows it’s true.” No proof needed or expected.

Contrary to what the writer believes, I don’t hate Trump, or anyone else, because I don’t fear Trump or anyone else. What most people really hate is being afraid, and what they’re really afraid of is anyone they can’t control.  The irony is there will always be someone out of their control, so they’ll end up feeling like they need to control anyone and everyone who’s different. 

Does anyone else see how over the top and out of control that is? Or how much time and energy would be involved, without the person ever feeling safe, or being able to let their guard down? The only person we have any real control over is ourselves. Wouldn’t it make more sense to control our thoughts, feelings and behaviors rather than try to control everyone else’s? 

Unfortunately, too many people like this need to hate because it gives them purpose, as they look to share that purpose with all the other haters with a similar purpose. That’s how we end up with ISIS, the Ku Klux Klan, Boko Haraam, and all the other extremist, fear-based groups.

What most haters don’t want to understand is that all haters and fanatics share the same basic trait, the trait being their inability to admit they might be WRONG. It’s as if their egos can’t handle even the thought of being WRONG. I suspect the current “hater” is no different.

As I said, I don’t hate Trump, or anyone like him. What I feel is pity and sadness for the ignorant or emotionally dysfunctional people they are. My hope is they stop denying their fear-based issues, and seek professional help before things get more stupid than they already are. (I know. It’s hard to believe things can get more stupid, right!?!.)

Because denial is the most difficult personal human behavior to challenge and change, I’m not holding my breath the “haters” will find the courage and awareness to change themselves. For most, it appears their 2 X 4 moment hasn’t arrived yet.

Gary Burt
Marble, Minnesota

Open letter to white supremacist militia groups

After receiving an unsolicited and unwelcome military surplus catalog, full of aggressive and sinister over-priced products aimed at those of you working to start Civil War II, you guys are not who you say you are.

The catalog offers useful things like heavy wool sweaters (50% acrylic) and $900 6-man squad tents. It’s also full of items that are not aimed at hunters or campers. It supplies a wide variety of armament to those “survivalists” out in their not-so-secret compounds, where they are training to take over the country.

You boys are not patriots. You oppose diversity of any kind, depending on your individual prejudices. You worship and work for a monoculture of white privilege and supremacy. You want to overthrow a government that a majority of Americans elected. That is treason of the rankest and most fascist kind.

Nor are you Christian. Despite what preacher Jeff Jansen, of the “Ignite Faith” church out in Oregon, says, Jesus was not a tough guy, not a macho man. He was a Jew who preached love, understanding and peace in the synagogues of the time. It’s all there in that 2000-year-old book you hide behind. He did not encourage war and murder.

In Jansen’s church, the ushers wear side arms with orders to shoot to kill. How Christian is that? Dad used to call guys like him “cash-and-carry sin-busters.” However, Jansen is darker than that.
Nor, obviously, are you democratic. You are despotic, following the rabble-rousing of an incompetent tyrant and his slimy swamp of supporters. You are not interested in the majority. It’s your private agenda that you follow, and it’s white power that you crave.

If you succeed in returning to power our nation’s worst political mistake, the rest of the world will begin to arm itself against you, fearing the religious monoculture you claim to follow. Once back in power, your hero, that carrot-topped swamp rat will never leave. It will make America an anathema in the world.

You are this country’s worst-case scenario, and proud of it. One hopes that before you traitors can seriously affect the fate of the USA, that you can be run to ground in your feral warrens, and neutralized. They shouldn’t kill you, just put you in some nice, quiet, safe little pink room where you can meditate on why no one wants you to run the country.

Ray Allard
Duluth, Minnesota